Metal could be heard as his fists clenched and his mentality re-entered reality. Broken from his daze or day-dream, his helm shifts making his vision direction onto Vesper. Calmly his voice exited the face-guard of his helm. "Yes...........I am fine." Despite it being obvious, Jin made no intentions of admitting being startled by being slightly off guard. Walking over to the tree, he places the weapon in his hands with the others. "Where are my manners." Was heard as he pivoted on one foot and faced Vesper. "Good-morning Athena, I hope your first night in the guild was comfortable?" His mind wondered on if she was in his company to request assistance. However figured if that was her goal, she would get to it eventually.

Ish said
Metal could be heard as his fists clenched and his mentality re-entered reality. Broken from his daze or day-dream, his helm shifts making his vision direction onto Vesper. Calmly his voice exited the face-guard of his helm. Despite it being obvious, Jin made no intentions of admitting being startled by being slightly off guard. Walking over to the tree, he places the weapon in his hands with the others. Was heard as he pivoted on one foot and faced Vesper. His mind wondered on if she was in his company to request assistance. However figured if that was her goal, she would get to it eventually.

Vesper watched Jin move toward the tree, placing his weapon down in a pile with the others. Once he faced her and finished speaking, she answered. "It was comfortable, yes. Thank you. I was wondering, if you aren't too busy, if you would be able to show me around the grounds? I didn't really get the chance yesterday, as you probably know I'm sure. The HM confirmed our acceptance into Oculus."

Vesper hoped he wasn't too busy, or that she wasn't interrupting. Before he could speak again, Vesper made a high pitched whistle sound, almost inaudible to a normal person. Shorty after Nyx swooped from the branch she had been perched in, to Vesper's shoulder.

A light rain fell over the city as Lysander exited Blood Moon Tavern. He pulled his hood over his head once more and glanced around before starting down the cobbled street back towards the Guild. It had been less than twelve hours since the last assassin had accosted him, but he still felt nervous at the sense of peace the morning had presented him. Nevertheless, he treated every passing stranger with wary contempt and quickened his pace as he made his way back to the Guild.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he arrived outside the heavy gate to the courtyard. Without bothering to look back he pulled it open, stepped inside and closed it tightly behind him. The courtyard was less populated than it had been when he had arrived the previous day, but there were still several hedge knights sparring and clerks strolling the grounds. Lysander gave each of them no more trust than he had the streetwalkers. The only person he could trust in the Guild was the green-haired girl he had met the previous day, and she was nowhere to be seen.

He crossed the grassy space to the Oculus Headquarters and proceeded up the stairs to the room where he had slept the previous night. Vesper and her owl had already left, as the wrinkled sheets indicated. Lysander had gathered his weapons before he set out for the tavern, but he'd left his bag beside the bed.

He knelt beside it and examined the opening. The piece of string he had slipped halfway inside it had not been disturbed, indicating that no one had searched his belongings. He slung the bag over his shoulder, tidied the bed, and walked back out of the headquarters. The Guild Dormitories building was just across the courtyard, a tall and wide building with a single entrance and many windows. Lysander proceeded to it and walked inside. Immediately, he was greeted by the Headmaster, who walked briskly to meet him.

"Ah, good to see you, Mr...?" the Headmaster began. The previous night they had not formally exchanged greetings.

"You can call me Grey." Lysander replied. He glanced over his shoulder. The hallway was littered with roving mercenaries and busy clerks. He constantly monitored his surroundings; the crowded space made him uncomfortable.

"Ah yes, of course. Well, Grey, or Mr. Grey or whatever you please, my clerks have found you a suitable living space in the Dormitories. If you would be so kind as to follow me..."

Lysander nodded, and the Headmaster spoke as they walked. "This will be your permanent resident within the Guild. You can feel free to store your belongings, weapons, clothing, and generally any of your possessions here. The building is under close guard." Lysander felt more at ease hearing this, but not entirely comfortable with letting down his guard. After climbing a set of stairs and walking down another hallway, the Headmaster stopped outside a door.

"This is the room we found for you. We intend to direct Vesper here as well, unless she wants otherwise. The room has four beds, so if you should form a mark-hunting party at some point you'll have space within the Guild. Make yourself comfortable. Unless you have any other questions, I'll take my leave. Find me tomorrow for your first mark, if you're ready. Good luck, and good night." The headmaster bowed and walked back down the hallway, leaving Lysander alone in front of the room.

After the headmaster left, a cold chill began to fill the hallway and the lights began to flicker, and the window at the end of the hall is thrusted open. The wind begins to pick up as a soft female voice begins to fill the room,"Do you feel safe within these walls Lysander?"

A candle suddenly drops from it's holder, and it's flame begins to cause a small smoke as the curtains begin to twist within the wind,"Untouchable by anyone?"

The shutters begin to clatter as it continues,"I'm waiting."

Jinx stared up at the window from behind the iron rimmed gates. Her black hair tumbled around her shoulders as she stared up at the window. Her iris's were a pure white and her expression seemed reserved. If Lysander was the uptight prideful captain that the Legion spewed out like a new-selling product. He would come out to fight on even ground. She couldn't venture into the guild without the Oculus Headmaster knowing. She knew of his distaste for Phantom and wasn't willing to go up against a guild full of mercenaries. She was good, but not that good.

She commanded the ghost of a young woman, to use her words. Hopefully he would reciprocate and get his ass down here to die. If she was lucky. She brushed her fingers over the bars, a smile beginning to grow as she waited for him to take notice.

Gathering his weapons in an orderly fashion, Jin slings them over his shoulder and takes a step closer towards the guild. The direction he stepped also was towards Vesper, to remove some distance between them and avoid having to raise his voice. The lower tone Jin spoke in, less his voice echoed through his armor. "There isn't much to the place, but I could show you around." The idea of lugging the weapons around as he showed her the guild, seemed unnecessary. Thus provoked Jin to say. "However I must first put these weapons back to my dorm. Carrying them around for this tour seems redundant." Nearing the ending of his sentence, his free hand went behind his head and scratched his helmet.

Vesper nodded her head in agreement, merely leaving Jin to lead the way. The two walked along side one another, passing the central guild head-quarters. The central guild HQ was used by both Phantom and Oculus, customers go to this building to submit their mission to possibly be taken by either guilds. With their backs facing the central guild, the Phantom and Oculus head-quarters where to their left and right. Behind each guild, stood two more buildings for their respected dorms. (One for employees and then veterans.)

Furthest in the distance and straight ahead of themselves, stood the utilities building. The utilities building hosted the medic rooms, Weapon-Smiths, Cafeteria, several floors for training and armory rooms. (Each building stands several stories tall, also having several floors below ground level.) The path they walked on was connected/led to each building building. Several yards in front of the two, their cobble-path had a possibility of going right. However the pathway stopped at a gated area, which was the Oculus Guild.

Nearing the gates of the Oculus guild, Jin explains to Vesper. "The building we passed is the Central Head-Quarters. Without that building, each guild would not receive missions, possibly even fight over them." His open hand extends to the gated area across the guild grounds from their location. "The Phantom Guild stands over there, each Guild is gated to show boundary. If a member of opposing faction crosses the gate without permission, it can cause a lot of issues. For it can be mistaken or considered an attack or instigation of battle." His hand lowers as they reach the gate to the Oculus guild.

Just as Lysander began to pull the door to his dormitory open, the lights snapped out.
Instinctively, he dropped to the floor and pulled out his pistol, aiming it down the hallway and tensing his body for an attack. However, the lights flickered back on within a few seconds. Lysander whipped his head around, searching the hallway, but there was nothing to be seen. He slipped into his room and took cover by the door.
Almost out of the air, a female voice emanated through the room.

"Do you feel safe within these walls, Lysander? Untouchable by anyone?" the voice asked. A chill ran down Lysander's back, and a candle in the hallway dropped to the ground and sputtered out. "I'm waiting." The shutters began to clatter.

Even before his exile from the Legion, Lysander had dealt with countless assassins; snipers, agile masters of stealth, gangs of murderous brutes, but this sensation was new to him. It was almost as if the assassin was taunting him. He had heard tales of men and women that killed through fear, driving their targets mad or subduing them to a state of submission and finishing them off. He suspected as much for whoever was calling him now. And yet, it was almost inconceivably stupid to inform a target that you were attacking them; assassins tried to take their victims by surprise. He concluded that the assassin was not in the building.

But even then, how was the voice so close? The killer must have somehow been throwing their voice, or projecting it with some sort of ranged equipment. As the thought entered his mind, Lysander peered around the room in search of a speaker or bug of some sort, but his eye found nothing. It was certainly hidden, and he didn't have the time to go looking.

The killer was most likely trying to draw him to a trap, Lysander thought. There wasn't much he could do, and leaving the building by conventional means was too dangerous. He peered down the hallway. At the end he had come from, a set of stairs twisted in both directions to the top and bottom floors. At the other end, a large window was open to the air, its curtains waving gently in the breeze.

The window was too high up to be a convenient entrance for an assassin. Lysander scoped it out; it almost the size of a door. He racked his mind, trying to think about what he had seen of the dormitory building's surroundings before he had entered.

Lysander took one more look around the hall and the room and, seeing nothing, tucked his weapons close to him and cursed under his breath. He sprung out from behind the door and sprinted down the hallway. As the window grew closer, he picked up speed, then jumped through the opening into the air.

He braced himself for the moment he was airborne, then hit down hard. He was on the roof of the Quartermaster Hall, adjacent to and slightly shorter than the dormitory building. He dropped to a roll to protect himself and his weapons clattered across the dully angled tin roof. Without slowing down, he snatched his katana and sati, which had come off his belt, and sprinted across the roof, jumping again and hitting the ground much harder than he had the Hall.

He gasped for air as he collected himself, pushing off the grass and looking around for the assassin. Hopefully, he thought, he had put some distance between them.

Jinx brushed her palms over the bars as she controlled the spirit who followed the captain. Her target moved quickly, taking the window route towards the ground. She smiled, as she gave instructions to the poltergeist who whispered softly in Lysander's ear,"The Reaper is coming."

She cringed her body weakening as her magic stretched the distance. She stopped suddenly when she heard noises coming from the woods. She was shocked to see Jin and Vesper walking towards the gate. She turned, her body facing the other direction to hide her pale coloured eyes. She clenched the bars, her body stiffening as a loud screech began to fill the woods, behind Jin and Vesper. With that distraction aided by a dead crow, she turned and walked slowly down the street her heels hitting the concrete as she brushed her palms against the bars. She moved into view of Lysander who stood silently on the grass. Her pale white eyes caught his and she spoke softly, a cold wind brushing her hair from her face as her fingers began to twitch in excitement,"Do you know that this land has hosted thousands of guild members from centuries beyond. In fact the ground you stand on, is littered with the bodies of past warriors. Some of them merely dust. The others merely bones. Joining them will be a great honor for you."

She bent slightly moving slightly further to stare at the handsome captain with a smile,"Hiding behind the stone pillars of Oculus was a smart move. If I was in your position I would do it myself."

She tapped her foot slightly,"Why is the legion after you anyway? It wasn't in my files."

Call it a soft spot but this guy was cute, and she couldn't fully feel vindictive until she learned what crime he committed against society. So far he remained quiet while she chatted, probably stunned at her reckless abandon and arrogance. She was never secretive about her identity when it came to victims. They would soon be dead so why hide. She gave a wide smile, as a few shadows in the dark began to move slowly behind her.

Vesper had began walking through the forest and toward the Guild when a screech was heard behind them, causing Vesper to shift her gaze behind her, watching as a crow fell dead to the ground. Nyx cawed out and narrowed her eyes, peering around as well. Before Vesper could fully react, she realized Jin had continued on and caught up to him quickly. Vesper didn't like the aura of the crow as it fell from the tree, and tried to shake it from her mind so she could pay attention to the layout of the grounds.

Quickly they reached the gates of the guild and she peers up at Jin. "A new member and I spent the night in one of the dorms, but we were told we would be given permanent residence today." Vesper thought about Lysander a moment, and realized she was sure he hadn't told her his name. She tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips. She stepped forward and pushed the gate open, closing it again once she and Jin were on the other side. "Which way now?"

Standing before Vesper and Jin was the Guild head-quarters, behind it one could see the Oculus Dorm. Continuing his stride towards the second and bigger building, his arm reaches forwards and points towards his destination. As he spoke his voice echoed faintly through his armor. "The building we are passing is the Oculus main building or Head-Quarters. The building behind it, where we are walking now. Is known as the Oculus dorms." Once he reached the door to the dorms, he opened and allowed Vesper to walk through first.

Without skipping a beat, Jin kept walking into the building after Vesper, further leading the way to his dorm. Jin allowed Vesper to enter the main room to the dorm, which was the living-room and kitchen split. However when he entered his room while merely saying. "One moment please." The bedroom door didn't even close behind him as he placed his weapons to their rightful spots. A few minutes passed and Jin walked out of his room.

Standing near the door to the exit of his dorm, he stands and thinks a few moments about what Vesper said before they made it here. " If i iknow that Head-Master and his antics. I wouldn't doubt if one or both of you new members were placed into this dorm with myself." A heavy sigh was audible as he was reminded of what Head-Master said before. "This is due to how long I have went without a roommate. Also the fact I keep disobeying the most important rule of Oculus. Never complete missions alone." Jin was always a loner, even when he had his body. Why would he stop that habit or life-style now?

Lysander jerked around to see a dark haired girl approaching him slowly, her fingers lazily brushing against the wrought iron gate. Her intent gaze to him betrayed immediately that she was the one behind the strange voices, but clearly she was not trying to hide it. She addressed him recklessly, and when she was finished speaking Lysander stared her down.

"So what are you, then? Clearly not Faceless. Crest, perhaps? Jin'hadai? Phantom?"

Lysander noticed her eyes flicker slightly at the mention of the latter, and could tell he had guessed correctly.

"Of course. That would explain your affinity for undead arts, and your will to kill a political figure without question." He drew his katana and dropped the sati onto the grass, trying to keep up his confidence. "But do you really think you can kill me here? Look around you." He waved his free hand in a wide gesture. "We're standing in the middle of Oculus grounds, which I have just been inducted into. If you attack me, the guild will know. You would start a war between the Guilds, Phantom would have your head, and you know it."

Vesper followed Jin into the dorm room, taking in the surroundings of the kitchen and living room area. Most of the area was neat and tidy. Plain white walls with dark wooden floors to accent. As Jin went to put away his weapons, Vesper took it upon herself to check out the rest of the dorm. Quickly she noticed three more doors, all made of the same color wood as the floor. She walked over to the first one, which was beside Jin's room and pushed it open easily. The room was mostly empty except for a queen sized bed in the center and a tall wooden wardrobe against the wall. Stepping back out, Vesper turned around after closing the door behind her. The other two doors were places on the wall across from her, and she walked over to those as well, opening the second as she did the first. She gathered the rooms were the same all around, except for one minor detail she noticed here.

By the bed in this room, stood a tall bird perch. She tilted her head slightly and Nyx ruffled her feathers. She figured Jin was right about the HM choosing to room Lysander, Jinx, and herself with Jin. She wondered if they would all live well together. Turning back around, she noticed Jin was finished in his room.

"And does his choice bother you?" she asked him curiously.

Jinx stared at the probing knight with a large smile,"That's not answering my question."

She found a spot and stood still her expression growing dark,"I don't have to touch you to kill you Mr Grey. Hell I don't even have to move through these gates. You are completely surrounded by your new guilds founding fathers and every damn one of them is willing to kill for me, just for a measly few seconds of life."

Her pure white eyes glued onto his sword with amusement,"You can't stay within those walls forever."

She turned silent as a whisper came from behind Lysander,"Come out from those grounds and face me in a duel. I enjoy a good spar, and it gives you an even chance to kill me. I would feel bad savagely ripping you apart.."

The words came from Jinx now,"Without knowing who you are. I am not a cruel person, I don't trust the Legion as far as I can fucking throw them, and I don't believe the back story they gave me for you. That being said, I still need to pay my rent. I am giving you a chance to win, but if you stay behind there, and make me dishonor my guild, I will be very merciless."

She gave him a simmering glare then let go of the bars, waiting for his answer.

Jin shrugged his shoulders, not knowing if he truly cared or not. "I cannot say I feel strongly either way about the subject. It certainly would make finding teammates for missions simpler on my end." Pausing a moment he heads to the door which was the exit to the dorm. "However I've never been the social butterfly per say." Were the only words that escaped his helm as he opened the door to usher Vesper out of the dorm. While walking and exiting the building, Jin spoke. "Anywhere in particular you wish to see? I kind of gave you a decent tour while headed this direction." His voice then went silent, as they carried forward and he awaited Vesper's response.

Lysander stared hard at the girl behind the iron gate. He racked his mind trying to think of her possible identity, but the few assassins he knew of within Phantom did not match her description. His body was at a standstill as they faced off across the grounds, and she waited for him to reciprocate her challenge. He knew it would be unwise to turn her down, but without a better knowledge of her identity he couldn't be sure he would survive.

Reluctantly, he dropped his arms and sheathed his katana. He avoided her gaze and then stepped back, trying to retain his confidence as he strode back into the building defiantly.

As soon as he was out of her sight, he slid his back down the wall and sat on the floor, gasping out of anxiety. Eventually he gained control of himself and stood back up, and heard voices in the hall upstairs. He took the stairs two at a time and pulled his pistol, to find Vesper and the iron-clad man from the previous day standing outside one of the doors. He jogged over to them and glanced out the window, his hand on his pistol.

"Vesper," he said, pulling the blinds apart to look outside, "There's another assassin. She's in Phantom."

Silver said
Lysander stared hard at the girl behind the iron gate. He racked his mind trying to think of her possible identity, but the few assassins he knew of within Phantom did not match her description. His body was at a standstill as they faced off across the grounds, and she waited for him to reciprocate her challenge. He knew it would be unwise to turn her down, but without a better knowledge of her identity he couldn't be sure he would survive. Reluctantly, he dropped his arms and sheathed his katana. He avoided her gaze and then stepped back, trying to retain his confidence as he strode back into the building defiantly. As soon as he was out of her sight, he slid his back down the wall and sat on the floor, gasping out of anxiety. Eventually he gained control of himself and stood back up, and heard voices in the hall upstairs. He took the stairs two at a time and pulled his pistol, to find Vesper and the iron-clad man from the previous day standing outside one of the doors. He jogged over to them and glanced out the window, his hand on his pistol."Vesper," he said, pulling the blinds apart to look outside, "There's another assassin. She's in Phantom."

Vesper was just getting ready to answer Iron-Clad when Lysander came rushing up the stairs towards them. Nyx ruffled her feathers and stood to attention, her head tilting to the side to listen. Vesper listened as Lysander explained about the assassin outside, and Vesper's eyes narrowed, taking a quick step toward the window to see. She blinked, noting it was Jinx. "Her name is Jinx." Vesper recalled. Her eyes narrowed and she took a step away from the window and towards Lysander. "I am going to assume she is not willing to back down.. So would you care for assistance?" You could almost hear the smile in Vesper's voice, and her yellow eyes came to rest on Lysander's, trying to understand how he was feeling. It wasn't very often Vesper was overwhelmed by emotion, and so despite this might seem like a serious problem to others, she felt calm.

Jin about to continue his stride exiting the building, abruptly is stopped when Vepser is approached by Lysander. Overhearing his words, Jin merely has one response. "Are you a current member of the Oculus Guild?" Jin's gaze was on the stairs which Lysander came from. Not sure what would follow him or what would unfold next. "If you are an Oculus Member. Technically this assassin from Phantom holds a bounty or mission against another guild faction member, which could cause serious implications. However this assassin from Phantom could not be patient enough to allow protocol to intervene and stop you from getting killed. Or rather, stop the Phantom's mission from being accomplished." Phantom members were efficient even if it was at cost of morality or alignment. Though they haven't been punished or charged for any intense crimes yet.

Jinx watched the captain run back into the building with wide angry eyes. "I expected a lot more."

She shook her head and moved towards her bike and grabbed a small brown bag and moved back towards the gate. She leaned down, as she pulled at the cord, and looked inside. She whispered quietly towards the items then took a few steps back and through the bag over the gate, and into a window. The brown sack fell between the three, and a dark giggled erupted from Jinx, as her eyes turned a bright white.

---

Inside, small dead spiders began to flutter wildly from the bag, as they began to fill the small room. They skittered wildly towards Lysander, their sharp fangs and red glossed over eyes, jumped towards the victim. They crawled slowly around Vesper and quite lightly over Jin's toes but their main target was obviously the Lysander. Jinx grabbed the stone and jumped onto a column, as she aimed the dead critters which were filled with a poisonous toxin that would kill a man within minutes. She knew the laws of the guilds, and she would not enter the building, but strategy was her forte. She was trained in planning, and being quick on her feet. She had three dead crows watching the building at different angles, and was already feeling the hum of the dead guild ancestors that lie underneath the gardens. They tried to resist her of course, fighting her tooth and nail to be put back to sleep. They would be almost untouchable if they knew she was going to use them to kill a comrade. She swore, her body swaying slightly with the use of so much magic.

She waited hoping her attack would spark something in the captain.

Lysander closed the blinds, satisfied seeing that the assassin appeared to have fled. He stepped back, preparing to respond to Vesper, but noticed a defined shadow moving down the hall towards them. As the shadow drew closer, it shifted and distorted, until Lysander could see that it was neither shade nor apparition, but a massive crowd of spiders.
He staggered back, glancing at Vesper and Jin, who stood before him.
"Get back!" he yelled, glancing about the room as the swarm of spiders grew closer. He snatched a lantern of the wall and smashed it on the floor, and a column of flame erupted on a puddle between them and the spiders, burning harmlessly on the tiled floor but serving as a barrier.
When he was certain the flames would not catch on the walls, he looked at Vesper and Jin.
"Let's get out of here," he said, knowing that the spiders would soon climb around the walls. "We need somewhere safer for the night."

Vesper turned, deciding to follow Lysander in his decision to stay elsewhere for the night, though not sure of where they could go that might be safer. She assumed that Jinx was controlling the spiders somehow from outside the grounds, and God knew what else she could do. She furrowed her brow and moved down the stairs. "Where can we go though? If she's able to reach us despite being outside of the grounds, moving to somewhere else might not even be worth it?" she said softly, mostly thinking out loud. She wondered if Jinx would really try and kill Lysander knowing it would come along with serious consequences. Nyx ruffled her feathers and kept her eyes out while Vesper spoke and thought, waiting for the two men to respond.

The sound of armor shifting was feint as Jin entered a sort of defensive stance, overseeing the fire and oncoming threat, he shouted to Lysander and Vesper. “ Why is this person after you? Why not ask the Guild-Master for his help?” The Guild-Master could help, if he wasn't already. Jin's first instinct was to rush out the window and attack whoever was assaulting someone inside the Guild grounds. Half of Jin regretted asking Lysander more questions, due to the more he got involved. The more his desire to seek a true fight became.

True fights are life or death, fighting a Phantom Guild-Member would surely bring him one of those fights, their members are forces to be reckoned with. But at to foolish of a cost, bringing unwanted attention, along with possible cause of conflict between the Oculus and Phantom guilds. Before Lysander and Vesper could take their leave or respond. Jin spoke a final time. “You know what. Forget I asked. Just go to the Guild-Master. I'll handle this my way.” Rushing through the fire he extinguishes most of it. Whether he crushed any spiders along the way was not important.

Jin's focus rested on the window which he proceeded to leaped through, landing outside the guild building and nearby the gate. His helmet directing left and right while he scanned the area. He was looking for the one responsible for the spiders. Outside the gate he could see the person who threw the bag. Merely shouting out to Reaper. “Stop this foolishness and your actions shall be forgiven. Assaulting someone within these grounds is no different then sparking conflict with the guild itself.” The fighting stance he now entered could have been perceived as strange or outlandish. While he stood and waited for his target to respond.